Idaho State suspends football coach Kramer

Oct 23, 2012 - 7:43 PM Pocatello, ID (Sports Network) - Idaho State suspended head football coach Mike Kramer for one game Tuesday and issued a letter of reprimand for his violation of the Big Sky Conference university's conduct policy.

The second-year coach will miss Saturday's game at Montana, ISU director of athletics Jeff Tingey said. Associate head coach Don Bailey will serve as the team's acting coach in the game.

"Following a thorough investigation, Coach Kramer will serve a one-game suspension for this Saturday's game at Montana," Tingey said.

The suspension comes as Pocatello and campus police continue to investigate an Oct. 3 practice incident in which Kramer is accused of shoving senior wide receiver Derek Graves to the turf.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program recently aired video footage of the incident in which Kramer apparently ran across the ISU field and pushed Graves to the ground by shoving him in the chest.

The program said Graves filed a police report and hired an attorney. Graves added he has suffered from neck spasms since the incident.

Kramer is a longtime Big Sky coach who has had successful yet controversial stints at Eastern Washington and Montana State. In 1995, an Eastern Washington player accused Kramer of slapping him, although no charges were brought against the coach.

Kramer was fired at Montana State in 2007 after five former players were arrested within a year's time, the final straw being a former player caught selling drugs. Kramer filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming he was sent packing without cause and that the school libeled and slandered him, and later settled the case with neither side admitting fault.